Hearing Terapagos's words, Damian was pretty speechless.
Other powers changed Terapagos's ability?
The power of time-space.
In the Pokémon World, the Pokémon that have truly mastered this kind of power are actually few and far between.
Celebi is one.
Palkia and Giratina could be counted too, sort of.
Even though they don't have time powers—
as Pokémon of Myth, in a way, the three of them are all a little connected to time-space ability.
It's just that compared to Dialga, Palkia and Giratina are only a little involved at most.
And they can't just freely rewind and travel through time like Dialga can.
But Celebi couldn't affect Terapagos's ability.
The gap between them was simply too huge.
And Palkia and Giratina also couldn't.
Their time abilities weren't enough.
As for Dialga—
even if you ignore whether it had that strength without its Origin Forme to use Terapagos's time-space travel ability on a distorted Stellar Form…
even if it did have it, back then when Dialga and Stellar Form Terapagos were both controlled by Hoopa Unbound—
then it would only be one case.
That case was when it was spying on some Arceus.
"Why do it like this?"
Damian was puzzled about this.
But whether he got sent to Kalos three thousand years ago or the Hisui era—
for Damian, it didn't make much difference.
Because the battle was already like that from the start.
Dragon Kyurem was about to beat Complete Forme Zygarde.
Once Dragon Kyurem drew its attention away…
even if Damian hadn't come back yet,
Hoopa Unbound couldn't possibly seize the chance to capture Mischief Hoopa.
So the result was basically decided already.
Even if Arceus's stance was on Damian's side, it didn't need to do this kind of meaningless "assist."
If anything, Arceus was trying to get Damian to go to Hisui.
"So you did it on purpose, to let me know about Akari early?"
Damian was basically certain of this.
Because the location where he arrived in Hisui was Crimson Mirelands.
It wasn't actually far from Cogita's little house at all.
And Volo just happened to be nearby around that time too.
"Tsk~
You really do favor her."
The more Damian thought about it, the harder he couldn't help shaking his head and letting out a soft chuckle.
Yeah.
It really was favoritism.
Too much of it.
Maybe Dialga—maybe even Arceus in this world—had foreseen the future already.
So it all showed "favoritism" toward Akari.
Was this what it felt like when the world doted on someone?
"Huh?
Damian, what did you say?"
Slightly tipsy Terapagos raised its head, looking lost.
"Nothing.
You, little one—
drink less alcohol from now on."
Damian gently tapped the top of Terapagos's head.
But it looked like Terapagos's tolerance was actually pretty good.
"Hehe~
That fruit wine is really fragrant."
Terapagos showed a very human-sounding, stupid little grin.
"And I didn't get drunk.
Hoopa and the others are so lame."
It was proud as it flicked its little head around.
And honestly, that checked out.
Mischief Hoopa was already so drunk it couldn't fly properly.
As for Jirachi and Victini—
they'd flipped over and fallen asleep belly-up.
The alcohol content in the fruit wine wasn't that high.
But the problem was—
they drank way too much.
Damian had seen it too.
A massive wooden barrel was somehow almost getting emptied by Mischief Hoopa and the others.
Meray having heartache about it made sense for her too.
"Alright, alright, you're amazing—
damn it."
Damian couldn't help but laugh.
This Terapagos was the same kind of deal as Mischief Hoopa and the others.
It gave off this feeling of childlike innocence that hadn't vanished.
It was actually kinda adorable.
"Then, Terapagos.
Tell me—
can you really send me and Dawn back to Hisui?
This is really important to me."
"Uh—"
Terapagos tilted its head at Damian.
A mysterious shimmer flickered in its eyes.
"I should be able to.
I can see the 'threads' on Damian.
There are so many of them.
As long as I find the specific 'thread' you mentioned in Hisui—
I can send you there."
Not long after, Terapagos lifted its head confidently.
"But Damian—
my ability has a time limit.
For two people, it might take less time than you would've spent over there today.
And it also depends on whether Dawn has a 'thread' on her."
The "threads" Terapagos mentioned were just a shorthand that made it easier for Damian to understand.
You could think of it as causality threads.
Only if you have causality threads that connect the Teleport Goals and the corresponding person—
Terapagos can activate its talent and let the Goals perform time-space travel.
That was also where Terapagos was very different from Dialga.
Dialga's time travel had no such limits.
"So can you send Akari to our era instead?"
Damian thought of an easier approach.
In the Crimson and Violet plot, Terapagos sends back Sada in the past to the Crystal Pool.
That meant that as long as the conditions were met, it could directly summon the person from the past into the present.
"As long as there are 'threads,' you can."
Terapagos blinked its big eyes.
"Okay.
I got it."
Damian confirmed it.
He picked up this adorable little Terapagos.
And his smile was impossible to hide.
So he really was too fond of a little one like Terapagos—
cute and strong.
Terapagos's body size was really small.
In Normal Form, Terapagos was only 0.2 meters tall.
In Normal Form, it was only 0.3 meters too.
But in Stellar Form—
based on what it observed today—
its body size would shoot up to around 2 meters.
Still, compared to other top-tier legendaries, you could practically call Terapagos "tiny."
But just as Damian said, battles between Pokémon were never about whether the body size was purely big or not.
Like Arceus.
Its body size was also under 4 meters.
But that didn't prevent it from being invincible everywhere, in the sky or on the ground.
"Ge-sii~"
While Damian held it and rubbed its chin, Terapagos instantly relaxed all over.
It closed its eyes and let out a comfortable little hum.
It enjoyed it so much.
"And Terastal is even more convenient too."
Damian looked down at the Terapagos in his arms, and his mouth curled up.
Terastal was a buff system with extremely tactical significance.
With Terapagos, it could also gradually get popular inside Team Rocket.
Because Terapagos is the "source of Terastal."
All Terastal—
originated in Terapagos.
Just like Dynamax originates in Eternatus.
In reality, it was different from Dynamax that was strictly limited by location.
Because Dynamax required "energy points."
Then you used the Dynamax Band to draw out Dynamax energy—
so that the Pokémon in the Poké Ball could Dynamax.
So Dynamax's limits were the strictest among all buff methods.
And yet Dynamax really was strong.
Even with time limits, it was still incredibly powerful.
Terastal was different.
Terastal only required a Tera Orb full of Tera energy.
Then you could use it anywhere.
The issue here was—
besides Paldea and the deeper Area Zero, in other regions, a Tera Orb was basically a one-time consumable.
Because there was nowhere to replenish Tera Orb's Tera energy.
Paldea had Pokémon Centers that could replenish it for free.
And some environments rich in Tera energy would automatically refill Tera energy.
So in other regions, Terastal didn't really have any strategic meaning.
But now that Damian had Terapagos, it was different.
All he had to do was get Terapagos to manufacture a few items that could continuously replenish energy for Tera Orbs.
Like Eternatus.
Eternatus was the source of Dynamax.
In reality, as long as you could catch Eternatus—
then you could place energy points anywhere.
That meant Dynamax wouldn't be limited by region.
Because Terapagos and Eternatus—
they were the sources of those two buff methods.
Without them, there would be no Terastal or Dynamax.
So it was clear.
In reality, as of now, you could trace the origins of every buff method.
Z energy—
the Ultra energy that triggered a Z Move.
In Alola's history story, it was originally brought to Alola by Solgaleo and Lunala from Ultra Space.
But they probably weren't the source of Z energy.
The source was most likely Necrozma.
Since Necrozma could trigger Ultra bursts.
Or maybe the source was Ultra Space itself, as a whole.
As for Mega Evolution—
according to Professor Sycamore's research in the plot—
Mega Stones were probably some special stones.
For example, the Evolutionary stones created after Xerneas and Yveltal's energy, fired from the Ultimate Weapon, illuminated them.
Yeah.
If that research prediction proved to be true—
then among the four buff types, Mega Evolution would actually rank as the lowest in "status," in some sense.
However, from a real-world perspective, Mega Evolution was absolutely the most useful of the four.
Because Mega Evolution didn't limit region.
And the boost to a Pokémon's strength was extremely straightforward.
It also mattered a lot tactically for the main roster.
(ps: purely from the game battle environment, I think Dynamax is stronger than Mega Evolution and Terastal.
In the game, Dynamax is just way too overpowered.)
So in reality, Mega Evolution was genuinely too useful.
Dynamax and Terastal both had their own pros and cons.
But they were absolutely both dominant buff systems.
In short periods, Dynamax basically multiplied a Pokémon's HP boost.
And during its duration, it allowed you to use powerful Max moves.
Terastal, on the other hand, could directly change a Pokémon's own typing.
Its strategic significance was almost unmatched.
It could turn an original type-disadvantage battle into an advantage battle.
And it also boosted move power.
Which was also, in a way, a disguised increase to combat power.
As for Z Moves…
Yeah, Z Moves are just a bit of a cringe dance.
Damian blew some air, held Terapagos, and went back to the house.
After he stepped inside, Damian immediately raised a brow.
Serena and Dawn were here.
One was sprawled on the sofa.
One was sprawled on the soft carpet.
Both of them were fast asleep.
From the look of it—
Serena on the carpet probably rolled off the sofa.
As for Caitlin, Damian glanced inside the room.
Caitlin was also asleep with even breathing.
This house was prepared by Baraz.
It only had two bedrooms and one living room.
Serena and Dawn didn't sleep in the other room.
Maybe they purposely left it for Damian.
"So you all drank less, and that's what you do with just this much fruit wine?
How could you get like this?"
Damian found it pretty funny.
Actually, the three girls didn't drink much either.
It was only about two cups.
Once they noticed their heads were spinning—
they stopped.
But it didn't matter.
Since it was their first time drinking, their tolerance was just average.
Damian walked over.
First, he pulled Serena's dress down a bit.
Yeah—
he saw her black safety shorts.
That was normal too.
Serena wasn't the kind of person who was loose and careless.
With her short skirt, the wind alone could risk a scare—
so safety shorts were a must.
But Damian didn't expect Serena's awareness to be pretty strong.
It seemed she felt someone approaching.
Serena, who was sleeping soundly, instantly opened her eyes.
After seeing Damian, her focus blurred again.
Obviously, in her mind, Damian was absolutely someone she could trust.
"Mr. Damian…
You're back…"
The voice was almost like sleep-talk.
Soft and light.
"Mm.
Don't sleep on the floor.
You'll catch a cold later."
Damian adjusted Serena's dress.
With one arm around her waist and the other under her legs, he gently picked her up.
Serena's waist was slender and soft.
Her thighs were also smooth and delicate.
Serena was still clearly in a half-dazed state.
After losing balance, she unconsciously wrapped her arms around Damian's neck.
Between the heavy sleepiness and the foggy mind, Serena's eyes stayed half-open the whole time.
"Uh…"
Not long after, Serena rested against Damian's chest.
Then she fell back asleep again.
After he carried Serena into the room and carefully laid her on the bed, Damian returned to the living room and picked up Dawn.
Just like Serena, this little girl's alertness was also high.
As Damian got closer, her brows furrowed.
But her eyes didn't even open.
She sniffed adorably, and the moment she smelled something familiar, her brows relaxed.
Damian also carried her like a princess.
Dawn naturally and peacefully leaned against Damian's chest.
Even the way she lightly rubbed—like she was cuddling—had a hint of a smile on her face.
After placing Dawn beside Serena, Damian didn't rush to leave.
He sat there and carefully watched Dawn's sleeping face for a while.
Not sure what he was thinking.
"Mr. Damian…
You're so amazing~"
After a few minutes, Dawn mumbled in her sleep.
Damian couldn't help but laugh softly and shake his head.
He got up, tucked both girls in, and left the room.
"Good night."
Tomorrow's big surprise…
and hopefully Dawn will be able to accept it.
~~
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